


Glam

by thelilnan



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: First Kiss, Gen, M/M, Makeover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-27
Updated: 2014-08-27
Packaged: 2018-02-15 00:01:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2207991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelilnan/pseuds/thelilnan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on Danny's appearance on #friendzonelive, sporting some adorable blue and white eyeshadow.</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>Danny finds he likes wearing make-up. Barry likes it too (maybe more than Dan realizes.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Glam

“Oh man, Danny,” Suzy said from the Friend Zone couch, scrolling through her phone after the cameras cut. He was behind her, leaning over the back of the couch to see what she’d seen. She was grinning, he could see in the reflection of her phone’s screen, and he saw the stream of #friendzonelive comments on Twitter she was scrolling through, “People sure love this look. They’re calling you a David Bowie clone!”

Danny laughed and smoothed back his wild hair, beaming like nothing else. Initially, after the last brush of eyeshadow and final plume to his cheekbones had been applied, he’d felt nothing but anxiety and nervous energy for the next three hours. It was new for him; the most he’d worn make-up in the past was a scattered five minutes here or there, trying to be bold for the next Ninja Sex Party video, but self-conscious over-thinking always won out. More often than not, he’d scrubbed the awkwardly blended colors away and hid until his panic died down. Now, presently, in front of an internet fashion icon and the rest of the world, he received nothing but praise and excitement; Danny beamed like the sun.

“I don’t know about Bowie, but that’s awesome!”

Suzy grinned back, fondness evident in her smile, “No way, you’re so Bowie right now. You should totally make this your thing. Just be all glam all the time.”

“Honey,” Danny flipped his hand at her and struck a dramatic pose, “I _am_ glam all the time.”

Suzy giggled.

—

Danny kept the trend. Suzy taught him how to create some light “no make-up” looks and eventually it led to Danny experimenting with contouring and dramatic eyeliner. Soon, he was wearing make-up more often than not, showing up to Grump sessions with glitter and blush and balmy pink lips. It looked good; everyone agreed on that. Natural or bright colors, Danny could pull off just about any look. It was mostly up to his attitude; the casual confidence in the way he carried himself, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, really sold the unusual aesthetic. Eventually, it became so commonplace—so accepted as natural and normal—by the end of summer that no one even noticed anymore.

Except Barry.

Living with him, he watched Danny put on his face for the day a couple times, catching Dan before and after his morning shower and consistently taken aback by the change. Of course, Danny was a handsome man without make-up anyway but there was something about his exaggerated, high cheekbones and his accentuated eyelashes that really struck a chord with the younger man.

Then Dan started wearing lipstick.

It startled Barry the first morning he saw it, giving him pause as he lifted a spoonful of cereal to his mouth. Danny emerged from the bathroom at that moment, hair still a hopeless mess but face made-up in what might be considered a male version of Suzy’s intense, magazine cover beauty. Barry stared, openly and obviously at the deep red painting Dan’s lips. Danny grinned when he saw his friends’s stares and gave him a kiss on the cheek; a friendly little kiss between roommates, nothing too weird there, but Barry blushed all the same. He could feel the lipstick staining his cheek. It would be there all day.

“You look good.”

“Don’t I know it,” Danny flipped his curly mess of hair as he strode toward the coffee pot, hoping that Barry had left enough for him. He had. He always did.

Barry stuffed his cereal into his mouth and tried not to think.

“Not to be ‘that guy,’” Danny leaned back against the counter as he stirred spoonfuls of sugar into his coffee, “But I think you should get on this train too. You have great eyelashes already and they’d look super intense with a little curling and mascara. Maybe some light eyeliner. Shape up the eyebrows a bit...”

“But you haven’t been thinking about it,” Barry glanced over his shoulder. Dan shrugged.

“Nah, not at all.”

He sipped his own coffee while Dan added milk to his, “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“We’ll get Suzy’s opinion first but I think I’m developing make-up instincts, y’know?”

Barry chuckled and finished his coffee, “Maybe you should start a fashion channel.”

“Oh yeah,” Danny sat next to him, tucking his hair behind one ear uselessly. It flopped back into place a half-second later, “Follow for smoky eyes and half-buttoned plaid shirts.”

“You’ve found your aesthetic,” Barry raised his coffee mug to Dan’s. They clinked the ceramic together and finished breakfast.

Same as always.

So why did it feel so weird to have the lipstick on his cheek? Why did he burn up under Arin and Ross’s excited stares or Suzy’s minx-ish little wink? Why did he stare at Danny whenever he spoke, whenever his back wasn’t turned, watching his subtly curved lips, highlighted and glorified in red, red, _red_ , and why did it feel so hard to breathe?

He pretended not to know.

“Barry would look _adorable_ with some make-up on!” Suzy confirmed for Danny when he brought the topic up, just before they left for the night. She carefully took hold of his face, squished his cheeks like everyone did, and examined his features. Barry couldn’t help thinking about his nose. Was there any make-up to fix that?

“Well, the roundness of your face is definitely an asset,” Suzy explained, rubbing her thumbs over his cheeks, “But your eyes need to be showcased.”

“Just as I suspected,” Danny beamed behind her. Barry’s mouth twitched.

“Some dark neutrals would be best. Gotta make those baby blues pop!”

“I’ve got some coal colors back at the apartment,” Danny nodded, “We’ll do a test run tonight.”

“Tonight?”

Dan hit him with a look that was simultaneously imploring and apologetic. Barry shook his head and looked away so he wouldn’t have to decipher it further.

“Well, I can’t wait to see it,” Suzy kissed Barry’s cheek (opposite the one still marked by Danny’s red, red lipstick) and sent them on their way.

—

Back at the apartment, Barry sat on the closed toilet lid while Danny rifled through his newly secured make-up bag on the sink to his left. His fingers kept twitching, trying to wring the tension from his palms. He stared at the juncture of the wall and floor, noting the dingy grout that needed to be cleaned. Danny suddenly appeared in his line of sight, warm smile blocking the ill-scrubbed floor.

“Don’t be nervous.”

Barry closed his eyes. He felt one of Danny’s large hands hold his head by his cheek and the small, soft pad of an eyeshadow applicator rubbing in short strokes over his right eyelid. Then his left. Then the pad of Danny’s thumb, blending either side into itself. He tried not to let his breathing become too obvious or forced, focusing primarily on regulating that so he didn’t have to think about the warm roughness of Danny’s right hand holding him in place. He felt something finer than the applicator draw along the line of his eyelids.

“I don’t want to be a raccoon.”

Danny laughed.

“Open your eyes and look up.”

The mascara was the hardest part. Barry’s eyelids fluttered uncontrollably under the foreign tickle of the applicator brush but Danny had a steady hand. The whole process didn’t take much longer than the eyeshadow or eyeliner had. Barry continued to blink rapidly even as his artist pulled away.

“Oh!” Danny cooed as he admired his work, “You are so cute!”

Barry looked at his hands and smiled.

“One last thing,” he held up a small, off-white tube with a ring of gold a little more than halfway up, “Some gloss.”

Barry clenched his hands together.

“I dunno, my lips are really thin... I don’t think it’d do much good. Or look good.”

Dan shook his head, “Don’t worry, it’s not as red as mine. It’s like... Pale pink. Trust me, it’ll look good.”

Barry sighed and sat forward. Once again, Dan’s large hand cupped his chin but now Barry had no reason to look anywhere but the older man’s face. He forced himself to breathe through his nose, watching Danny watch his lips, carefully applying the subtle lip gloss in short, careful strokes. He found himself noting the perfect lines and colors of Dan’s own make-up; the light shadow fading out into dark, the enhanced lines of his eyebrows (masking his trademark scar), the perfect swoop of eyeliner and dramatic curls of mascara on his lashes. Barry let his lips fall open as he took in everything on Dan’s face, exhaling softly over Danny’s thumb as it blended the pink into Barry’s lips. He finished and met Barry’s gaze, his gaze openly fond but somehow inscrutable. Barry tried not to stare and failed.

“All done.”

Barry swallowed.

“... You look great,” Dan’s voice was softer, as was his gaze. He could feel everything in his chest that had been building up over the past month begin to heat up, ready to explode. If only Dan would stop _looking at him like that_ , “Barry—”

Barry surged forward suddenly, smashing his mouth into Danny’s and wrapping his arms around the taller man’s broad shoulders, muffling surprised and eager noises that arose from either man’s lungs.

They kissed.

The weight of Barry’s upper body pressing against him so urgently sent Dan tumbling backwards, back hitting the bathroom wall, and dragging Barry with him. Thankfully, he easily settled in Dan’s lap, legs bracketing either side of his thin hips, kissing him eagerly the entire time. Danny kissed back, hands roaming over his smaller roommate’s sides and back, uttering low sounds into Barry’s mouth. After a minute or two more, Barry pulled back for air, panting and keeping his eyes downcast, away from Danny’s face.

“Wow,” Danny breathed, crooked smile forming over his lips, “ _Wow_.”

“Shut up.”

“No way, come back here,” Danny grinned, digging his hands into Barry’s back to pull him halfway. Barry relented, collapsing forward into Danny and kissing him again. He kissed him slowly, all the nervousness of the first time having been released, and now he could savor the fact Danny’s lipstick was slightly cherry flavored and for some reason, this made him moan.

“Fuck,” Barry pulled away and hid his face in Danny’s neck and his hands in Danny’s hair. The older man held onto him, chuckling fondly.

“How long did you want to do that for?”

“Since I saw your first video,” Barry admitted quietly, digging his fingers into the matted roots of Dan’s hair, “You’re so fucking hot, Dan... And then with all the make-up...”

“I wasn’t being fair.”

“No,” Barry sat up again, “No, you really weren’t!”

It was then Danny saw that not only had the soft, pink lipstick Barry had been wearing had smudged but that his own lipstick, bright red, had smeared as well. There were smudges and streaks over Barry’s lips and chin, effectively ruining Dan’s careful work. Oh well. He smiled and rubbed his thumb over the younger man’s cheek.

“Well,” he sighed softly, leaning close to brush his lips against Barry’s again, “You look great, even with the kiss marks. _Especially_ with the kiss marks.”

Barry swore softly but the sound was swallowed up in Dan’s mouth.

He found he didn’t mind it.

—

The next day, when the two roommates both showed up, made-up and glammed out, everyone went wild. Suzy was ecstatic, saying she wanted to feature the two of them in a video. Arin was going nuts, screaming “WOOOOOOOOOOW!” and orbiting the group. Ross was just... Vibrating. Barry stepped back from him, flashing a shy grin.

“This is it, this is the group aesthetic,” Suzy pumped her fists victoriously, “I’ve always wanted to have a girl gang!”

Ross’s eyes bulged and he turned sharply to Suzy, “Wait, does that mean—”

The poor guy never saw it coming.

—

“Moral of the story is,” Danny began as the two Grumps took their seats on the couch after about an hour in the chair. Arin raised one carefully drawn eyebrow and batted his now luxuriously coated eyelashes at the older man. Barry leaned over the back of the couch, planting a quick, pink kiss on Danny’s cheek, “Everyone looks fucking hot in make-up.”

Even Ross.

 

End. 


End file.
